Don't mention it
by BitterPixieBro
Summary: In which Zigfried tries and fails at something he worked really hard at. Please leave one (1) review to save an authors drive.


**" _I don't know."_**

 **It was a first never in my life had I ever faced such confusion before. Usually, things of this sort, things that required intelligence harboured no problem for me, yet, for once in my life I found that I was stumped. How was this? I had _always_ been able to out do Zigfried. He had _never_ been a problem for me, yet when it came to this, the circuitry of his _flawed_ holographic _prototype_ was so messy, so _chaotic_ that I didn't have a clue as to how to begin in fixing it. For _once_ in his life, Von Schroeder had me _stumped_. **

**He'd stare at me, utterly _disappointed_ in the news I had just given him.**

 **" _What do you mean you 'don't know'?"_**

 **It was well known, even by him that I knew better than he did when it came to these things, that I was far more experienced, and knowledgable when I came to wiring and really anything electronics based.**

 **How had he fucked up _this badly_?**

 ** _"I mean I don't know, and you're going to need to trash it."_**

 **Horror would wash over his face. It was clear that he had worked at this for quite some time, yet there was _nothing_ I could do. This was so horribly flawed that there wasn't a possible way of fixing it. He'd need to scrap it and restart.**

 ** _"You can't. . . I can't! Herr Kaiba, I've spent too much time on this. . !"_**

 **I'd only offer a shake of my head in response. It was a lost cause, he must have known that before he called me here, I was just one last desperate attempt to try and get this horrible design to work. Zigfried knew it wouldn't work before he called me here. He _must_ have known.**

 **Yet it seemed that he didn't. _Tears_ would stream down his cheeks. _He was crying._ I didn't know what to do, what help to offer him. He shook with his sobs. He was so _upset_ for this garbage that _never had any hope_ to begin with.**

 **I would stand by awkwardly, watching as he cried. Yet soon enough the atmosphere would shift. He'd look up at me through those teary eyes. Sniffling, trying to keep from looking a _fool_ in front of me.**

 **He wouldn't succeed.**

 **As he failed, he'd throw his arms around me. He needed comfort. I would stand stiffly, unable to comprehend _why_ he felt as though this was an appropriate action. Yet I also couldn't stomach to throw him off of myself. He was so _vulnerable,_ I wasn't about to toss him to the side and make him feel even _worse._**

 **I'd find myself offering whatever comfort I could to him. I would wrap my arms around him, run my hands over his back. I hadn't a clue what he was feeling, or even what he was thinking, yet I knew that he must have been calming down, as he wasn't shaking near as much as he had been to begin with.**

 **His breath was evening out, he was slowly returning to his normal self.**

 **This I was thankful for. I couldn't _hold onto him forever,_ that much would have been _irrational._**

 **He'd pull back, he'd rest his hands on either of my arms, which by this point rested at my sides. A _bitter_ smile would cross his face.**

 ** _"Thank you, Herr Kaiba."_**

 **It was clear that he had needed some comfort. Why such a simple thing had gotten him so upset, I wasn't aware. I didn't know the effort that he had put into this, I wasn't aware how hard he had worked, or how badly he had wished to _impress me_ , and I would most likely never know this.**

 **I'd nod in response.**

 ** _"Don't mention it."_**

 **I would never like to speak of this again, I didn't enjoy the fact that he could use this moment against me. Even though he had been the one to cry, I _had shown him a softer side to myself_. He could use that _against me._**

 **" _I won't."_**

 **That was all I needed to hear from him. Neither of us would speak of this again, that was a fair deal. Neither of us would be humiliated by the other. That was fine by me.**

 ** _"I'll see you around."_**

 **He seemed to be at a loss, as though _he didn't want me to go._**

 ** _"Goodbye, Herr Kaiba."_**

 **Eventually his words would come, and I'd take that as my prompt to leave. _I had no intentions of sticking around,_ not long enough to allow this moment to grow awkward.**

 **I'd see him again soon enough, under much less strenuous circumstances.**


End file.
